BY Dyepkazah Shibayan
Obiageli Ezekwesili, leader of the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) movement, says there is no retreat or surrender until the Chibok girls abducted by the Boko Haram insurgents in 2014 are rescued.
Speaking with journalists in response to a comment credited to Ibrahim Idris, inspector-general of police, that “enough is enough” on the frequent protests of the group to the presidential villa, Ezekwesili urged Idris to educate himself properly on democracy and citizen rights.
“The police will not sit and watch such scenario unfold,” Idris was quoted as saying when he received the National Council of Women Societies (NCWS) in his office on Wednesday.
“The rights of the law-abiding citizens must be protected within the context of the law and we believe enough is enough. We ask that they thread with caution and that their grievances be channelled within the ambit of the law.”
However, Ezekwesili asked Idris to go back and check the antecedents of the group from 2014, saying: “The previous administration used all kinds of tactics similar to this one to try to violate our constitutional liberty.
“Not only did the constitution uphold our rights, the courts also upheld our rights so he should just read his files he would be able to find what he needs to educate himself properly about democracy and citizens rights.
“There’s no retreat no surrender. Are our girls back? In addition to bring back our girls, we also NOW have a hashtag that says, #AreOurGirlsBack?
“If the government says that we are unreasonable for demanding for our Chibok girls in the way that we have been demanding for them since 2014 they need to show the evidence that counters our stance.”
She also said that the pro-Buhari group they had encountered at the entrance of the presidential villa on Tuesday, which said “Chibok girls was a scam” had a right to do what they were doing since they were an advocacy group.
“As far as we are concerned we are advocating for our Chibok girls. We don’t know what any other group is advocating for. It is legitimate for any group to have any advocacy they choose,” she said.
The movement vowed to march to the villa every 72 hours until the federal government briefs them on an immediate plan to rescue the girls.
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